Method of producing nylon and cellulosic yarn patterned fabric



Patented May 23,

METHOD OF PRODUCING NYLON AND CEL- LULOSIC YARN PATTERNED FABRIC Harold I. Huey, Lincoln, and William W. Russell,

East Providence, R. I., assignors to Sayles Finishing Plants, Inc., Saylesville, R. I., a corporation of Rhode Island No Drawing. Application May 16, 1947, Serial No. 748,662

Claims. (01. 8114.6)

Our invention relates to improvements in yarn patterned fabrics and the method of their manufacture, particularly to fabrics having relatively open background areas composed of ground yarns and relatively opaque pattern areas composed of pattern yarns interwoven with said ground yarns. In accordance with our invention the pattern areas can be made of uniform design or of any type of irregular design. This application is a continuation in part application of the joint application of Harold I. Huey and William W. Russell, Ser. No. 564,550, filed November 21, 1944, now abandoned, for Yarn patterned fabrics and method of their manufacture.

We are aware that others have woven fabrics having ground yarns and pattern yarns of a different nature and chemically attacked predetermined portions only of said fabrics with a re-' agent which will more or less selectively afiect portions of the pattern yarns whereby the attacked yarn portions are weakened and may be removed while the remainder of the pattern yarns remain more or less unaltered to form the relatively opaque pattern areas superimposed on relatively open background areas. We are also aware that similar pattern areas have been made by having pattern yarns floated over the desired background and by shearing or otherwise cutting them therefrom, which method however has tended to produce rough ends in the sheared pattern yarns forming the pattern areas.

Processes of the prior art which sought to pro-- duoe pattern fabrics by chemically attacking and removing only selected portions of the pattern yarns of the fabric to form a yarn pattern have not been commercially satisfactory. This has been due largely to the fact that it has been practically impossible to treat the desired yarn portions sufficiently to allow their clean cut removal from the relatively open background without also weakening and damaging the ground yarns. In other words, there has not been the desired relative inertness on the part of certain yarns to certain chemicals which is necessary to achieve the desired result in a commercial manner. Neither have yarns in general whether they comprise natural or synthetic cellulosic fibers, protein fibers or animal hairs had the desired selective afiinity for any specific chemical to make the production of such fabrics suitable for commercial uses. We have found, however, that yarns comprised of synthetic fiber forming polyamides sometimes called fibrous synthetic linear condensation polyamides commonly I called nylon have such selective afiinity or inertness for certain chemicals when compared to any other types of yarn, and that by employing them as the ground yarns, portions of said pattern yarns may be so cleanly and selectively removed that a very beautiful, durable and useful patterned fabric can be readily commercially produced. If heavy yarns are employed as pattern yarns and portions of the heavy yarns removed in accordance with a predetermined design, then very striking and attractive lace simulating effects can be produced. In the prior art it has been proposed to remove portions of cotton yarns from cotton-wool fabrics by destroying certain of said pattern forming cotton yarns by carbonization or by suitable yarn solvents. It has also been proposed to nitrate certain cellulosic yarns prior to weaving and to treat the fabric when woven with a strong alkali to chemically remove portions of the nitrated yarns. With all prior art methods, however, of which we are aware, there has not been a sufficiently selective chemical affinity or inertness to or for known chemicals to produce a satisfactory commercial product. In carbonizing processes the fabric as a a, whole has been weakened during the heating necessary for the carbonization and it has been extremely hard, almost impossible, except'as a non-commercial effort, to completely remove the carbonized or chemically weakened pattern forming yarn portions necessary to produce a pleasing finished fabric.

Processes which require the chemical treatment of yarns prior to weaving have also not proved successful. The chemically treated yarns have proved unstable in storage so that fabrics containing them have been subject to more or less rapid deterioration. For example the presence of acid or acid-forming chemicals in pretreated cellulosic yarns and fibers has tendered or rotted the yarn fibers. Nitrated yarns present a dangerous fire hazard. Thus pretreated yarns when woven into fabrics tend to deteriorate and become weak in similar mannor as if they had been treated in fabric form. I

An object of our invention therefore is to remedy the diiiiculties of the prior art methods and to provide a commercially practical process and an entirely new fabric having clearly defined relativelyopaque pattern areas and relatively open background areas.

We first weave nylon yarns with other yarns comprising chemically different yarns and fibers, such as cotton, linen, or rayons of regenerated cellulose to form a fabric which may or may not be an all-over'fabric, as desired. As stated, We

employ the word nylon to cover any suitable synthetic fiber-forming polyamide or fibrous synthetic linear condensation polyamide, for example certain types shown in U. S. Patents 2,071,250-253 to Carothers, whether polyhexamethylene adipamide or types having similar properties. After weaving, the fabric is treated with selected chemicals having affinity for at least one of the sets of non-nylon yarns and a definite non-aflinity for the nylon yarns whereby certain portions of one of the sets of yarns are chemically attacked and eaten away leaving the nylon yarns unaltered. Certain areas of the thus woven fabric are treated according to a predetermined pattern with the chemical agent or agents which will attack portions of at least one of said sets of yarns containing fibers readily disintegrated by said chemical and which will not damage the other set of yarns.

For the selective removal of portions of the yarns other than the nylon yarns, that is the cellulosic yarn portions, we treat the fabrics with suitable cellulosic yarn-destroying reagents, which will at least change them from yarn form to a disintegrated condition, such as with the following carbonizing agents: zinc chloride, certain acid salts such as aluminum chloride, aluminum sulfate, magnesium chloride and other hydrochloric acid-liberating salts, etc. The above agents have little or no adverse effect on the nylon yarns if used under suitable condition of concentration and if the fabric is aged for a proper period of time or under suitable conditions of heat to properly remove the desired portions of the cellulosic yarns from the fabric. However,

prolonged contact of the nylon yarns to certain chemicals such as strong mineral acids will also adversely affect these yarns and should be avoided. The great resistance which nylon yarns show towards many chemicals which destroy, or at least greatly weaken cellulosic textile fibers makes it possible to effect the clean cut removal of portions of such other yarns from nylon yarns without damage to the latter and it is, therefore,

possible to readily secure striking pattern effects by the selective removal of the desired yarn portionsto provide pattern yarns of varying or nonvarying pattern-forming lengths as desired interwoven with the ground yarns to form the pattern areas. mined or produced by chemical disintegration in accordance with the predetermined pattern and the chemical action is so sharp as to provide smooth unblemished ends clearly defining the border lines between the opaque pattern areas and the open background areas in the fabric as distinguished from the irregularly sheared ends of float yarns which often protrude vertically up and down from the pattern areas, the removal of the desired portions of the pattern yarns being so clear cut that the entire pattern yarns of selected predetermined lengths remain substantially in the plane of said ground yarns.

We thus produce the desired predetermined pattern effects without damage to the ground yarns because of the relatively great inertness of the nylon fibers towards certain chemicals as compared to other yarns. Corresponding yarn pattern efiects are not commercially practical except on fabrics employing nylon yarns because other well-known textile fibers or yarns are much more readily attacked by chemicals and among themselves show smaller differences in resistance to a given chemical reagent. Where the nylon yarns form the ground yarns interwoven with The pattern-forming lengths are deterc 7 printed directly upon the suitably woven fabric when this agent is suitable for use in a printing machine. Conversely, the fabric may be printed with a suitable resist, then impregnated with the selected reagent, when suitable resists are available. We employ the term cellulosic yarns in the specification and in the claims to define such materials as cotton, linen, regenerated and swollen celluloses e. g. rayons, either filament or spun.

The following examples though not exclusive, are given as typical:

1. A suitably woven fabric comprising nylon yarns and cellulosic yarns is printed in a pattern with a paste made by thickening a 25% solution of aluminum chloride with dextrine. The printed fabric is heated to about 250 F. for 10 to 15 minutes whereby the printed portions of the cellulosic yarns are so carbonized as to be easily removed by light rubbing, brushing, and/or scaping.

2. A suitably woven fabric comprising nylon yarns and cellulosic yarns is printed in a pattern with a paste made by thickening al3 B. solution of magnesium chloride with dextrine. The printed fabric is heated to about 275 F. for 10 to 15 minutes, and subsequently treated as in Ex. 1.

3. A suitably woven fabric comprising nylon yarns and cellulosic yarns is printed in a pattern with a paste of zinc chloride thickened with dextrine. The printed fabric is heated to about 309 for about 10 minutes whereby the printed portions of the cellulosic yarns are so disintegrated as to be easily removed by rubbing, soaping and/or brushing.

4. A suitably woven fabric comprising nylon yarns and cellulosic yarns is printed with a resist comprising starch plus caustic soda, and dried, then steeped in 25% aluminum chloride solution for several minutes. After squeezing, the fabric is heated to 250 F. for 10 to 15 minutes whereby the non-resist-printed portions of the cellulosic yarns are so carbonized as to be easily removed by light rubbing, brushing, and/ or soaping.

5. A suitably woven White fabric comprising nylon ground yarns in both warp andiilling, and spun viscose rayon yarns in the warp only, is rendered absorbent by scouring and then is framed and dried. The so prepared fabric is printed in a pattern with a paste of the following composition:

Gum tragacanth paste-(10%) (thickener) pints 12 Water do 5 Aluminum chloride solution (30 B.)

pints 4 /2 Glycerine do 2 Dyestuff of color index No. 1101 (sightener) The printed fabric is then passed during a period of eight minutes through anager at a tern.- perature of 300 F. Following thisageingthe fabric is run in a dash wheel with hot soap and detergent solution for one hour. After so treating and bleaching, ouring, washing, drying, and

framing, the rayon yarns in the printed areas are cleanly and sharply removed while the nylon ground yarns and the rayon yarns in the unprinted portions are undamaged and undistorted. The fabric possesses a good white color and shows an opaque pattern with clean cut edges with adjacent transparent areas of fine, strong, even nylon ground yarns.

Depending upon the type of fabric treated, the nature of the pattern printed, the type of printing machine used, the time and temperature of ageing, the facilities for removing disintegrated yarn fragments, and also depending upon various other factors numerous variations can be introduced into the preceding example. For instance, while the aluminum chloride content of the rinting paste can be varied widely it is preferred to use from 20 to 40 fluid oz. of 30 B. aluminum chloride solution, or the equivalent amount of other aluminum chloride, per gallon of printing paste. Also depending upon the aforementioned conditions the time of ageing the printed fabric may vary considerably as may also the temperature of ageing. However, the preferred time of ageing is between about 3 and 15 minutes, and the preferred temperature of ageing between about 250 and 320 F. Various thickening agents may be employed in the printing paste, for example starches, modified starches, such as acid-treated starches, chlorinated starches or British Gums or a mixture thereof, also mixtures of gum tragacanth and starches or modified starches.

It has been found that diethylene glycol, glycerine Similar hygroscopic substance is n im- 3..

portant component of the printing paste. While the exact action of such a hygroscopic substance is unknown it appears to facilitate the action of the yarn-disintegrating agent, to also serve as a lubricant, and further aids the removal of disintegrated yarn fragments from the fabric. The printin paste may advantageously contain a sightener to aid the printer during the printing operation. Such a sightener may be an inert colored pigment or an aqueous dispersion thereof, for example a vat dyestuif dispersion such as the dyestuff of color index No. 1101 or the like.

The fabrics printed may be originally either undyed or dyed with suitable colors which may or may not give cross-dyed eifects. Very beautiful and striking colored effects may be produced by dyeing the fabrics after the completion of the yarn patterning process.

The printing paste may also contain substances capable of producing various color effects in the finished yarn patterned fabric. For example dyestuffs may be added to the printing paste which will dye the nylon ground yarns. A colordischarging agent such as hydrosulfite may be added to the printing paste when a fabric whose ground yarns have been dyed with a dischargeable dye is printed. Or a color-discharging agent and a dyestuif capable of withstanding the discharging agent may be added to the printing paste containing the yarn disintegrating agent, so as to produce a finished yarn patterned fabric whose nylon ground yarns are dyed a color different from their original dyed color in the printed fabric areas.

It is apparent that we provide a novel type of patterned fabric and the novel method of producing the same with the advantages explained above.

It is understood that our invention is not limited to the specific examples given and methods described and that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scopeof the appendedclaims.

What we claim is:

l. The method of producing a patterned fabric, which comprises interweaving nylon ground yarns and cellulosic pattern yarns to form a fabric, treating selected areas of said fabric with at least one member of the group consisting of 1 chloride of a concentration sufficient when heated in a temperature range of 250 F.-320 F. to chemically disintegrate predetermined lengths of said pattern yarns in accordance with a predetermined pattern, heating said fabric for a sufficient period of time at a temperature between 250 F.-320 F. to substantially disintegrate said printed lengths of said pattern yarns and removing the disintegrated lengths of pattern yarns to provide pattern areas intermediate relatively open background areas in accordance with said predetermined pattern.

3. The method of producing a patterned fabric, which comprises interweaving nylon ground yarns and cellulosic pattern yarns to form a fabric, printing selected areas of said fabric with a thickened aqueous paste containing aluminum chloride of a concentration sufiicient when heated in a temperature range of 250 F.-320 F. to chemically disintegrate predetermined lengths of said pattern yarns in accordancewith a predetermined pattern, heating said fabric for 3-15 minutes at a temperature between 250 F. and 320 F. to substantially disintegrate said printed lengths of said pattern yarns and removing the disintegrated lengths of pattern yarns to provide pattern areas intermediate relatively open background areas in accordance with said predetermined pattern.

4. The method of producing a patterned fabric, which comprises interweaving nylon ground yarns and cellulosic pattern yarns to form a fabric, printing selected areas of said fabric with a thickened aqueous paste containing aluminum chloride of a concentration suflicient when heated in a temperature range of 250 F.-320 F. to chemically disintegrate predetermined lengths of said pattern yarns in accordance with a predetermined pattern and at least one member of the group consisting of glycerol and diethylene glycol, heating said fabric for a sufficient period of time at a temperature between 250 F.-320 F. to substantially disintegrate said printed lengths of said pattern yarns and removing the disintegrated lengths of pattern yarns to provide pattern areas intermediate relatively open background areas in accordance with said predetermined pattern.

5. The method of producing a patterned fabric, which comprises interweaving nylon ground yarns and cellulosic pattern yarns to form a fab temperature between 250 F. and 320 F. to sub- :1

stantially disintegrate said printed lengths of said pattern yarns and removing the disintegrated lengths of pattern yarns to provide pattern areas intermediate relatively open background areas in accordance with said predetermined pattern.

HAROLD I. HUEY. WILLIAM W. RUSSELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 20 file of "this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'IENIS Number Name Date 880,983 Fulton Mar. 3, 1908 1,834,339 Dreyfus et al. Dec. 1, 1931 2,047,650 ala July 14, 1936 2,130,948 Carothers Sept. 20, 1938 2,278,888 Lewis Apr. 7, 1942 2,287,696 Miller June 23, 1942 2,307,118 'Doring et al Jan. 5, 1943 OTHER REFERENCES Lefiing-well, Glycerine in Newer Textile Developments, Rayon Text. -Mo., May 1944, page 84 (244).

Text. 001., Feb. 1940, Uses of Nylon, page 95.

Gerber et -a1., Amer. Dyes Rep., Sept. 2, 1940, pages 437-440, 457. 

1. THE METHOD OF PRODUCING A PATTERNED FABRIC, WHICH COMPRISES INTERWEAVING NYLON GROUND YARNS AND CELLULOSIC PATTERN YARNS TO FORM A FABRIC, TREATING SELECTED AREAS OF SAID FABRIC WITH AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALUMINUM CHLORIDE, ALUMINUM SULFATE, ZINC CHLORIDE AND MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE, HEATING SAID FABRIC FOR A SUFFICIENT PERIOD OF TIME AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 250*F.-320*F. TO SUBSTANTIALLY DISINTEGRATE SAID TREATED LENGTHS OF PATTER YARNS AND REMOVING THE DISINTEGRATED LENGTHS OF PATTERN YARNS TO PROVIDE PATTERN AREAS INTERMEDITE RELATIVELY OPEN BACKGROUND AREAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAID PREDETERMINED PATTERN. 